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[ "The Great and Powerful Trixie stood proudly upon a cliff high above a mass of mindless pony followers, her perfectly trimmed tail and billowing cape flowing in the wind. A small tinge of pity for the hoard below was quickly snuffed out by the realization that no creature could possibly match her excellence, it wasn’t their fault that she was just...superior. Flawless genetics and years of tireless practice had honed the ultimate conduit of pure unicorn power. “BEHOLD!” she shouted, causing everypony below to look up in awe, “The Great and Powerful TRIXIE in all of her electrifying majesty has ARRIVED!” An eruption of dazzling fireworks and lightning bolts lit up the night sky, followed by the thunderous sound of thousands of stamping hooves and cheering equines. Trixie illuminated the entire cliff face with a soft purple glow. The magical light accented her impeccable coat. “Simpletons of Equestria!” She exclaimed, with her most powerful vocal enhancement spell, “The Great and Powerful Trixie is about to ROCK YOUR WORLD!”  Unknown to Trixie, the ground below her was weakening from the constant vibrations of the excited crowd below. Completely absorbed in her magic, she failed to notice the small splinter of broken earth creeping up the side of her earthen platform. Right as she was about to reach the climax of her epic Ursa Major VS Dragon light show in the sky above, a massive shift jarred her out of concentration. Before she could even register what was happening, the entire cliff face gave way, cascading freely toward the valley far below. Flashes of her past flickered through her mind, as the ground rushed toward her.. *** She woke up, tangled in sheets on the floor next to the bed. “Ugghh... Dammit Trixie!”, the purple mare glared down at her blue counterpart on the floor “This is the third time this week! Can’t we have just ONE night of uninterrupted sleep?”" ]

[ "Your heart is my piñata. Chuck Palahniuk Asking for help was not something the Great and Powerful Trixie was used to doing. Well, that and brushing her mane in the morning. It was always in perfect condition, of course, but nopony believed her when she tried to tell them that. It had been fun cavorting around Equestria for a few months, surely. She had had her fair share of fun, her fair share of adventure, and her fair share of pretty fillies claiming that they had never been so attracted to another mare in their life. She had performed for all manner of audiences; large and small, crowds of few and throngs of many. She had entertained entire cities and crowded bars, swarming parks and huge stadiums. She had done her dazzling magic for every type, from the most humble earth pony to powerful government officials and the greatest unicorn magicians- though, clearly, they were not as great as herself. She had truly seen it all in the eventful months since her failed show at Ponyville. And, yet, during her travels, something always nagged her from the back of her mind. Something that wouldn’t go away, no matter how many other mares she slept with or tricks she performed. It was something that she had never experienced in her life, and thought she never would. The problem was purple, had a star for a cutie mark, and had simply delicious lavender eyes. Trixie blinked at the stray thought. They were most certainly not delicious. How ridiculous. Nevertheless, her encounter with Twilight had most definitely irked her. In her one, rare moment of weakness, she had been shown up. Unthinkable. At first, she had been depressed about the whole affair. After that, she had tried to ignore it. When that didn’t work, she tried to distract herself with her performances. She put on the most impressive shows she had ever come up with since she had become a performer- shows that would have impressed the god queen rulers of Equestria themselves- and yet despite her brilliance, there still remained that nagging doubt that refused to leave her alone. She had even, after a few too many drinks one particular night, though about having a child with the preposterously pretty pony. She still wasn’t sure where that idea had come from, nor if it was even physically possible. It was her insatiable desire to rid herself of this nuisance that had led Trixie to the very doors of the Canterlot Royal Castle. Everypony had heard about Nightmare Moon’s defeat at the hooves of Twilight and the five ponies in her company. Trixie had been surprised that none of them had drawn the obvious conclusion about the encounter- that perhaps Luna wasn’t so thrilled to have been brought down so easily. She couldn’t prove it, but it was all she had to go on. Getting past the perimeter guards to her castle hadn’t been easy, nor had the trip up to Canterlot been trivial, but she knew that there was at least one pony that could help her, and that she lay inside these walls. She was her only hope- and Trixie hoped she could convince her to help. Taking a deep, dramatic breath, she knocked on the massive doors with a hoof. *** Luna tossed aside another crumpled piece of parchment into the growing pile next to her. Who would have thought getting revenge on your enemies could be so much work? And it was, of course, revenge that she wanted. Strangely, it had not occurred to her to begin planning such a thing during her imprisonment on the moon. It was only after she had returned to Equestria that she had begun to consider such things, and it was turning out to be far more difficult than she had anticipated. Perhaps, she thought, looking past her mountain of ill-formed plans at the moon outside, I shouldn’t have spent all that time dancing. To tell the truth, the whole Nightmare Moon thing had been a last-minute effort. It had almost worked, too, except for that insufferable purple unicorn and her little gaggle ruining everything with their magic tricks. Just thinking about her made Luna’s blood boil. That whole escapade had just been embarrassing. Only her quick thinking and fake tears when her sister had shown up had salvaged the situation and made her look like a victim instead of a laughingstock. Luna looked at the paper in front of her, entitled The Celestia-pult. She lidded her eyes. This was hopeless. Maybe it was time to turn her attention to getting rid of Celestia’s prized student instead of her- go for a psychological blow instead of a physical one. Surely that would make things easier. And yet, still, nothing came to mind. For all Luna’s taunting and all her posturing during her attempted takeover, the small unicorn she had fell to was indeed very powerful- and she had been tutored by her sister, no less. Even taking that into account, if it were discovered that Luna had been the one responsible for the unicorn’s untimely death, she wouldn’t just be banished to the moon this time. At the very least, she would end up with egg on her face again, and she couldn’t afford that. Not again. She would clearly need help to pull this off. The trouble was there was no one she could trust. A thousand years away from home tends to leave ones former acquaintances quite dead. That meant she would have to get social and buddy-buddy with somepony, and that was something she loathed to do- but she knew it would be a necessary chore. At the very least, they could end up slightly useful and absorb some magic before it hit her. The only problem was who to choose to embark with her on this epic adventure. At that moment, there came a small knock at the front door to her throne room. Luna looked up at the guards in front of the massive slabs of wood, nodding to them to indicate they should let whoever had knocked through. The guards silently complied, pulling the doors open. Standing in the moonlight of the garden outside was a small blue mare, wearing a purple cloak and hat studded with colorful star and moon patterns. Without waiting to be invited in, the mare entered the throne room with a purpose to her stride. The guards looked on at her warily, but did not stop her. As the stranger approached Luna, the god queen could see a fire and a drive in her eyes. The mare did not bow or prostrate herself before her when she was close enough, as Luna was used to. These things alone made Luna very interested in what she had to say before she had even begun to speak. And speak she did. “Princess Luna,” the mare said loudly, her voice echoing in the nearly empty throne room. “I require your assistance and partnership in ridding Equestria of a thorn in her side.” Luna had an inkling as to the mare’s identity, but her response was almost automatic. She lifted her head regally. “One does not ask for a princesses’ assistance in such a manner.” The blue mare sighed. “For the love of- do you even know who I am?” Luna did her best to sound annoyed, though in truth she was delightfully amused at her frankness. “You will address me properly, or I will have the guards escort you away.” The pegasus guards moved a step closer to the stranger at Luna’s words. The mare continued unperturbed in the same confident voice. “That would be unwise, your majesty. I seek to help bring you the sweet taste of victory you have sought for so long.” Luna blinked. Could it be? “What do you speak of? Who are you?” The blue mare donned a wide, manic grin, as if she had been waiting for that question. Her purple eyes glistened in the moonlight. “I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, and I want what you want- revenge on Twilight Sparkle.” Luna smiled the tiniest of smiles. Her prayers had been answered. *** The two unicorns retreated into the nearby library. Luna instructed all of the guards that had followed them to vacate the area, lest her sister become suspicious about a set of guards guarding a supposedly empty room. With the doors to the massive hall closed and securely locked, Luna could finally breathe easy. Her plan was going to come to fruition at last. She had feigned ignorance before, but she had recognized the small blue mare immediately. It was difficult not to hear of her escapades throughout Equestria, and she had been impressed more than once by a recounted tale of her performances. She had also heard of her show in Ponyville- and why this magician shared her hatred for Twilight. She glanced at the mare, who was poking around the books. She could not have found a more perfect partner to help her enact her revenge. “You have an impressive collection,” Trixie said to her from across the room. Her voice once again echoed in the empty chamber. Luna took one last look around to make sure they were alone, and then approached the small unicorn. “You said you needed my help. So, start asking,” Luna said. Trixie’s eyes shifted from side to side, as if she were embarrassed about something. “You have to keep this a secret,” the smaller mare whispered. Luna brought a hoof to her face. “Cross my heart, hope to f-“ “Yeah, yeah,” Trixie interrupted. “The truth is…” she trailed off for a moment, her face scrunching in disgust, seemingly at her own words. She swallowed and continued. “The truth is that stupid unicorn is more… technically proficient at magic than I am.” Luna nodded sagely at her pained admission. “That doesn’t surprise me. She is the personal protégé of my sister, after all.” “I don’t know what that word means, but I don’t want to hear about any hot-for-teacher stuff,” Trixie said, giving Luna an odd look. “All I know is her connection to your sister makes her very powerful. More powerful than myself. And it irks me greatly.” Trixie turned to look back at the shelves of books. “I’m sure you know the feeling.” Luna thought for a moment. “No, can’t say that I do.” “How was the moon?” Trixie asked, still facing the books. “Cold?” Luna narrowed her eyes at the mare’s back. “Point taken.” “Exactly,” Trixie said, levitating out a large book from the stacks and turning back around to face Luna. “So, you’re going to teach me.” “Teach you what, exactly?” Luna asked. Trixie turned the cover of the book so it faced Luna. The gold embossed title read Really Advanced Magic: Part I of XXIV. “You’re going to teach me everything I need to know to get rid of Twilight Sparkle, of course.” Luna blinked. “That’s all you need? Magic lessons?” Trixie cringed as if in pain from Luna’s wording. “Right. You teach me everything she knows, and a little more, and I remove a pesky problem from your life. Sounds like a pretty good deal, doesn’t it?” Luna pondered this idea for a moment. It did sound like a pretty good deal. She decided to make sure Trixie had the same plan she did, though, just in case. She started with an obvious question. “So, if I’m teaching you, what’s to stop me from just going and taking care of her myself?” Trixie just laughed. “Yes, the Great and Powerful Princess Luna strolling casually down the streets of Ponyville. That’s real subtle. There’s absolutely no chance that’ll backfire. Might as well stop by the sweets shop while you’re down there, and pick up a case of you’re stupid and so is that idea.” She finished the last part of her sentence with a completely deadpan expression. Luna furrowed her brow and pretended to look offended. “You’re not exactly low-key yourself.” “I don’t have both a horn and the wingspan of a dragon,” Trixie countered. “So unless you plan to kill her in her sleep- which isn’t very sporting, if we’re both honest- everypony will know it was you who killed the princesses’ prized student.” Luna completed the conversational thread with the obvious bullet point. “And that would not bode well for my life expectancy.” Trixie gave the princess a practiced, showboating grin. “Duh. Guess who’s got four hooves and can solve that problem for you?” Good, Luna thought. Trixie was on the same page she was- and even better, she thought she had come up with the idea entirely on her own. Her heart was racing with excitement. This had literally dropped into her lap, and it just might actually work. She couldn’t possibly screw this up. Once Twilight was out of the way, she could focus on her real goal: Celestia. For the rest of the night, Luna shared a few choice things with the smaller mare, planning out Trixie’s sleeping arrangements at the castle and her schedule of lessons over the next few days. When the sun was due to peak over the horizon, Luna led Trixie off to an unused room for her to get some sleep. What neither Trixie nor Luna had noticed was a white-furred alicorn, watching from one of the library balconies. *** It was breakfast as usual in the royal castle. Fine dishes from all over Equestria were on the menu, dressed up with the most ornate of place settings and fine china. Steaming piles of bacon and freshly-baked bread covered the table, all freshly prepared that morning. Luna honestly just preferred toast. As she arrived in the dining hall, Celestia was at the table already, cutting up a poached egg with a knife. As Luna sat down next to her sister, levitating her own knife to butter her simple breakfast fare, she discretely looked in the direction of her sibling. Celestia had the tiniest of smiles on her face as she chewed her food. Luna’s fear got to her- she was instantly a little worried. Had she discovered anything? Luna wasn’t going to be the one to give anything away, though. She looked in the opposite direction and took a bite out of her toast, ignoring her sister. After a minute or so of silence, though, her resolve broke down, and she looked back. Celestia had stopped eating and was watching her little sister with the same tiny smile. Luna frowned. “What?” she asked. “Nothing,” Celestia said in a sing-song voice. The two sisters simply stared at each other, each daring the other to speak- Luna with a glare, and Celestia with her maddening smile. The only noise in the dining hall was the chirping of birds in the garden outside. It wasn’t so much a menacing silence than a continuation of the rivalry that any two immortal siblings would have, if one were secretly trying to dethrone the other. As it turns out, Celestia spoke first. “She’s cute,” she said in a whisper. Luna nearly choked. “Excuse me?” “Your friend; she’s simply adorable,” Celestia elaborated, letting her mischievous grin spread a little further. Luna was thoroughly confused. Was her sister playing a game with her? Did she actually know anything? Had she heard what happened last night? She swallowed. “What are you talking about?” Celestia propped her head up with a hoof, putting her elbow on the table, smiling all the while. “Don’t be so shy about it, Luna- I approve. Don’t worry about it!” Luna’s jaw dropped slightly. She couldn’t possibly be… and yet, she looked completely serious. Luna was silent for several seconds, trying to process this. Celestia took it as her cue to continue, her voice taking on that familiar motherly tone that Luna hated. “Luna, you’re my sister,” she started, reaching across the table to ruffle her mane. Luna sat completely still, her face still a mask of disbelief. Celestia kept going. “I just want you to be happy- you know that, right? You don’t have to hide anything from me, and I’m not going to judge you. If that’s the path that you want to take, I fully support you.” Under any other circumstances, Luna would have been on the floor with hysterics. Now, though, she was at a complete loss for words. Celestia kept her genuine, happy smile as she waited for her sister to say something. Luna’s response was to quietly stand up, push in her chair, and walk out of the dining room to her quarters. *** Luna spent the day asleep, as usual. When she awoke, she avoided her sister at the dining hall for dinner, instead requesting that her food be sent up to her quarters. She didn’t want a repeat of that awkward conversation. Once Celestia had retired to her own room, Luna emerged, delving deep into the castle corridors to gather Trixie from her room, grabbing a tray of pastries from the kitchen on her way over. When Luna reached the unmarked door, she knocked quietly with her hoof. There was a sudden rustling from inside and a smattering of muffled swearing. Luna felt a little guilty- she hoped she hadn’t interrupted anything embarrassing. After a minute, Trixie mumbled, “enter!” Luna opened the door. Trixie was sitting up on the bed, the covers mostly over her, her face slightly flushed. Luna took a cursory glance around the room, but only found one alteration: a poster of one of the Wonderbolts on the wall. The name ‘Spitfire’ was written under the uniformed mare. Luna looked back at Trixie with a blank look. “Where did you get that?” Luna asked. Trixie shifted her eyes. “I brought it with me,” she said quickly. She looked at the pastries. “Are those raspberry?” she asked, changing the subject. Luna nodded. “The Great and Powerful Trixie loves raspberries,” she said, almost sheepishly, grabbing one of the puffs off the plate. After a quick snack for the both of them, Luna led Trixie through the complicated castle corridors towards the library. Her paranoia guided her around the longest way around that she could find, though she doubted Trixie noticed. Once they reached the doors, Luna once again dismissed the guards and led her accomplice inside, instructing her to secure the door behind them. Trixie turned around and was about to comply when Luna’s eyes met the sight she had been secretly dreading. Inside the library, on a far table, nestled between stacks of books and what looked like tiny pillows, was a large plate of sandwiches and a smattering of small chocolates. On top of the platter was a tiny sign stuck into the top sandwich that clearly bore the words, “Have fun, you two!” Underneath the words was a small red heart. Luna immediately turned around and started to walk out of the library. Trixie stared after her. “Where are you going? !” Trixie asked in a loud whisper. “Somewhere else,” Luna replied in a flat voice. *** The two ended up practicing in Trixie’s borrowed room that night. Three productive nights passed there without incident, but far from comforting Luna, this only served to fuel her latent paranoia. She still wasn’t sure what Celestia knew- if she were actually concerned about whatever she was concerned about, or if she were merely toying with her while she warmed up the straight-to-the-moon spell. Or both. She hadn’t been able to tell the difference a thousand years ago and she sure hadn’t gotten any better at it in the meantime. She didn’t let that stop her, though. There was work to be done. “Okay, so you know how to summon simple objects pretty well,” Luna said, beginning their third lesson for that night. Trixie, as if to prove a point, lit her horn and procured a perfectly smooth glass sphere into the air between them. It fell to the soft carpet. “Yep,” she said. “And we’ve covered how to materialize more complex objects,” Luna continued, prompting her this time. Trixie shut her eyes, her horn glowed once again, and after a few seconds, a brilliantly detailed gemstone came into existence. The light from her horn and the candles around them shined through the facets of the jewel, covering the room with radiance. Trixie opened her eyes and grinned devilishly. Luna let a tiny smile cross her face. “All very good. Now, we’re going to do something more difficult.” Using her own magic, she brought forth from the air a simple box. She levitated it in front of Trixie. “You’re going to teleport out the item in this box.” Trixie scoffed. “That’s it?” Luna cocked an eyebrow. “What must one do to teleport an object?” Trixie thought for a moment, and then her face fell, her grin disappearing. “You have to know what the object is.” Luna nodded sagely. “Precisely.” Trixie frowned. “How is this supposed to help me?” “You never know what skill might come in handy during a fight,” Luna said off-handedly. Trixie looked like she was about to say something in response, but gave up, shutting her eyes and focusing her magic. Luna placed the box on the floor, watching Trixie with anticipation. This spell was tricky, but not overly complicated. The object she had put in the box wasn’t hard to manipulate either, but the mare would need to master this spell before… Before Luna could finish that thought, there appeared with a flash of light a book between the two unicorns- a book far larger than would have fit in the box. Trixie opened her eyes in confusion at the same time Luna read the title. It was Colts and Fillies, a book infamous for its… racy content. It was often colloquially called, along with other reading materials like it, clop fiction. Trixie blinked in confusion and her jaw hung open. “Uh…” she stammered. Luna simply turned and silently beat her head against the wall beside her. *** The night of practicing was long and tedious, but fruitful. Trixie wasn’t used to the powerful magic Luna was teaching her, but she was learning fast, which was exactly what Luna had been expecting. The two magicians stopped working around the time when Trixie’s horn started to glow a weird color. Luna once again avoided Celestia at the breakfast table and had her food sent up to her room. When it arrived, though, it was the exact same plate of sandwiches and chocolates that she had seen in the library. Suddenly not hungry in the slightest, she frowned and pushed the plate away, crawling into bed. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She vaguely remembered dreaming of the moon. As she was accustomed to doing, she awoke at almost exactly dusk. She blinked a few times to get the sleep out of her eyes, and rolled over in her bed to get ready to raise Equestria’s nocturnal satellite and her accompanying stars. To her surprise, she rolled over onto something warm and pony-shaped. Yelping with surprise, Luna bolted upright and threw off the covers. Lying next to her in bed was a disrobed Trixie, who was looking back up at her with about as much surprise on her face as Luna felt. Neither said anything for a heartbeat, both of their jaws quite agape. Luna recovered first. “What are you doing in my bed? !” she squeaked. “What are you doing in my-“ Trixie started, but stopped suddenly when she looked around the room and realized that she wasn’t in her assigned quarters. Both ponies looked at each other again with a disbelieving silence. Trixie was blushing a deep red now that she realized what was going on. “You didn’t come here on your own?” Luna asked. Trixie took another look around the room, then down at herself, then back at Luna. “No! Where are my robes? What’s going on?” Luna still wasn’t quite awake, but she had a pretty good idea of what was going on. “So you don’t know how you got here?” she prodded. “NO!” Trixie repeated, quite forcefully. Another moment of awkward silence. Trixie uncomfortably grabbed a hooffull of the sheets and covered herself up a bit. “Let’s pretend this didn’t happen,” Luna said, blinking. “Agreed,” Trixie mumbled. Eager to put the morning- technically evening- behind them, the two quickly left Luna’s quarters.", "Another moment of awkward silence. Trixie uncomfortably grabbed a hooffull of the sheets and covered herself up a bit. “Let’s pretend this didn’t happen,” Luna said, blinking. “Agreed,” Trixie mumbled. Eager to put the morning- technically evening- behind them, the two quickly left Luna’s quarters. Now that Luna knew that Celestia knew where Trixie had been living in the castle, she made a mental note to find her a new room. In the meantime, though, they two would need a new practice space, and Luna thought she knew just the place. There was a balcony loft that she knew for a fact was unoccupied. It was a special room, usually reserved for when Celestia wanted to address her subjects in the most public manner possible, which wasn’t often nowadays. Before Luna had been banished, she remembered it seeing frequent use. Times had indeed changed. Stopping only to gather their spell books, the two made their way up the winding flights of stairs. Upon reaching the top, Luna opened the door to find the room exactly the way she had remembered it. Nice, quiet, and private. The two unicorns got settled, as they were now used to doing. Luna levitated one of the books and flipped to a dog-eared page. “So, we left off on barrier spells…” she began. “When she’s gone, what will you do?” Trixie interrupted. “Come again?” Luna asked. “That ridiculous unicorn,” Trixie clarified. “Once she’s out of the picture, what’s your plan?” Luna looked at the mare thoughtfully. At one point she might have hesitated in telling her this, but she had grown to trust her during her admittedly short visit. Plus, she was helping her- what harm could it do? “Celestia,” she said. “Celestia is next. This kingdom will be mine again.” “Sounds pretty vengeful,” Trixie noted lightly. “Says the mare that’s still focusing on one failed show,” Luna pointed out. “Says the princess who’s focusing on something that happened a thousand years ago,” Trixie countered. Luna was about to respond in kind when she realized Trixie had a point. They were both after something rather shallow and vain, weren’t they? And yet neither of them had really stopped and considered the consequences of the actions they were about to take. Luna looked into the younger mare’s eyes with a fresh understanding that she hadn’t expected. Perhaps there was more they could both learn from the other. Luna’s deep thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Luna swore quietly and lightly hit her head on the wall beside her. “Girls?” a sing-song voice came from the other side of the door. “Are you in there?” “Celestia, I swear to-“ Luna said, but the door opened before she could finish. Celestia popped her head into the room with a huge smile on her face. “Oh, hello!” she said cheerily. “Don’t mean to interrupt! Just wanted to see if I could get you girls anything,” she said, still smiling broadly. Luna gave her her best glare. “Celestia…” Luna mumbled. “Now, don’t be rude, Luna,” Celestia responded. “Ask your friend if she wants anything.” “Celestia,” Luna said, more forcefully. “Whatcha studying?” Celestia asked, peeking her head around to look at the books. “Celly!” Luna shouted, shoving her sister back through the doorway with her head. Once she was outside the doorframe, Luna shut and locked the door. She took a few deep breaths and then turned back to Trixie with a deadpan look on her face. “Point taken,” Trixie said quietly. *** Luna, exhausted from the night’s work, once again prepared to bed down for the duration of the day. She opened the large window that dominated one side of her quarters to let the fresh dawn air fill the room. She took a deep breath and savored it- the balcony loft had gotten quite stuffy after so many diligent hours. Trixie was absorbing her lessons almost as fast as she could think of them. They had perhaps one more night of studies before Luna felt the unicorn was ready to perform her mission. One more night, she thought, turning away from the window and approaching her bed. She could surely keep her sister out of the way for one more night. Seemingly in response to that thought, Luna heard a rustling behind her, on the other side of her room. It sounded almost as if somepony had come through her window. Luna sighed and closed her eyes as she felt a headache coming on. “What, Celestia?” she asked, turning around. Celestia was indeed perched on her open windowsill. “Now, now, Luna,” Celestia cooed. “No need to be grumpy with me.” “Why are you doing this?” Luna asked, narrowing her eyes. “I’m just looking out for my little sister!” Celestia said, climbing down from the windowsill. “Is that such a crime?” Luna gave Celestia her best glare, but said nothing. The white alicorn trotted cheerily to Luna’s bed, flopping down on it with a soft flump. She looked back up at Luna. “There’s something to be said about being a good host, you know,” she said, playing with the sheets with a hoof. “Though, it was nice of you to give her her own room and all. Shows respect for her privacy.” Luna continued her silent glare. Celestia continued, oblivious. “You could certainly have asked me to procure a better room, certainly- but I understand! You’re taking this gently. Slowly. I can appreciate that. Give her the old razzle dazzle. It works, sometimes. Sometimes it doesn’t- who knows with these performer types?” Luna thought she knew where her sister was going with this, but kept her glare up. Celestia took a tiny pause in her diatribe and levitated a sandwich from the tray that Luna had left untouched near her bedside. She took a bite and spoke around the food. “Though, dear, you might not want to leave her waiting too long. That’s rude.” Luna’s glare dropped to a flat expression. “Celly, we’re not-“ “Oh, don’t give me that,” the alicorn countered lightly. “You can’t hide anything from me, dear.” Luna resisted the urge to sigh. There was no way she was getting out of the conversation. She decided to take the easy way out. “Obviously not,” the alicorn grumbled. Celestia gave her sister a beaming grin, her point made. “That’s the spirit,” she said, getting up off the bed and magically opening the door out of the bedroom. Just as she was about to leave, she turned and looked back at Luna. “Be gentle with her. She’s kind of temperamental,” she said slyly. With that, Celestia walked past the threshold, the door closing behind her . Luna hit her head on the closest wall. *** This was it- the final night. Luna had picked a room as far away from her previous choices as she possibly could, to hopefully throw Celestia off. Luna looked on expectantly at Trixie as she closed her eyes and tried to perform the last spell for the night. If the performer could do it, then she had learned all that Luna could teach her- all that she needed to know to kill Twilight. It had been over a week of nonstop practicing and drilling and planning, and it was all coming to fruition right before Luna’s eyes. Trixie started to take on a peculiar glow as she focused her magic. Her horn positively lit up the room, it was becoming so bright. The blue unicorn mumbled something under her breath that Luna didn’t hear. Without warning, the mare disappeared in a flash of light. Luna smiled at the space that she had previously occupied, now covered in wisps of smoke. She- they- had done it. “I did it!” Trixie shouted from where she had successfully teleported - the other side of the room, near the balcony window. Luna turned around to see Trixie on her hooves, looking around in awe at her achievement. With the moonlight highlighting her form against the blackened sky, Trixie almost looked the same as she had the night she had broken into the castle grounds- but much happier. “And thus endeth the lesson for tonight,” Luna said contentedly. Trixie stamped a hoof on the ground in approval and whinnied. “Damn straight! There’s nothing that little unicorn can do to stop me now!” Luna gave the blue mare a wide smile. “There’s one last thing we need to discuss,” she said. All that remained now was to fill Trixie in on the exact details of how she would carry out her assignment. Luna had been obscuring the details of this intentionally up until now, just in case, despite Trixie’s protests. Now that their lessons were over… Luna’s heart skipped a beat when Trixie moved away from the window. Past the balcony railing, she saw the unmistakable silhouette of a horned, winged figure with a long, flowing mane, just out of sight. Celestia was here, watching them. Luna tried to keep her face impassive, but inside she was panicking. Not now. Not now, when she was so close. Her mind raced. She needed to get her sister away from that window for ten minutes. Ten minutes was all she needed. She knew her sibling, and she wasn’t going to be able to chase her off again; she’d just come back. Celestia needed to leave on her own. Luna swallowed, and her heart fell into her stomach. She knew exactly what her sister was waiting for the two of them to do. She looked at Trixie’s advancing form, hoping against hope that her hastily-constructed idea would be enough. Trixie was not going to like this. Here goes nothing. As Trixie walked the final steps towards Luna, the elder mare indicated silently that she should sit, which she did. Once Trixie was close enough, Luna put her snout gently against the blue unicorn’s ear and gently nuzzled it. “Celestia is in the window,” Luna whispered softly. Trixie, taken aback by both the unexpected gesture and the news, almost pulled away from Luna, but the alicorn lightly grabbed her ear with her teeth to stop her. Trixie took only a second to absorb the news, and then pulled her head back, seemingly understanding the gravity of the situation. “What do we do, then?” Trixie whispered back nervously. “We need to get her to leave,” Luna replied softly. Trixie paused, unsure of what to do. “Just pretend I’m Spitfire for a minute,” Luna elaborated. To Trixie’s credit, as corny as Luna’s encouragement had seemed to her, the blue mare took the hint without much hesitation and relaxed her posture. Her face had taken on a slight shade of red. Luna faltered, though. She was so out of practice that she wasn’t sure she could make this look convincing. Plus, Trixie was a mare. Luna would have to fake this like she’d never faked before. Just take it slow, she encouraged herself. Luna continued her nuzzling motion under and around Trixie’s ear, massaging the side of her head with her snout. She alternated between rubbing that spot and kneading the underside of Trixie’s neck. Every few moments she would nip a little at Trixie’s ear, which, after a few rounds, began to elicit soft moans from the blue mare. To her surprise, Luna could feel Trixie’s face getting redder and redder. She hadn’t expected that. She felt a little guilty for doing this to her, but she was sure the unicorn understood what was at stake. Though Luna wouldn’t admit it, her guilt was alleviated slightly by the sheer virtue of the fact that she was either apparently doing a decent job or that Trixie was a remarkably good faker. Luna stole a quick glance towards the window. She still saw the shadow of her sister watching them. It dawned on her that this would get awkward quickly if Celestia had no plans to leave, but Luna liked to think her sister had some sense of dignity. Time to continue. “I’m going to kiss you,” Luna whispered quietly, mostly as a forewarning. Trixie’s eyebrows shot up even as her eyes remained closed, as if she had been awoken from a trance. All Luna got in response was a soft hum and a nod from the blue mare. The alicorn stopped her nuzzling and brought her lips experimentally to Trixie’s. Their height difference made the movement a little awkward at first, which Luna solved by backing up a bit from her student. The heat coming from the performer’s face was very apparent now. She hadn’t been sure what to expect Trixie to taste like, but Luna thought she tasted a tiny hint of blueberries. Trixie didn’t reciprocate the kiss at first, but slowly, gradually began to push back on Luna’s lips with her own. The princess had no idea if she was doing her part correctly, but Trixie seemed to be enjoying it just fine. Luna kept it up for the better part of a minute before Trixie offered her tongue. Luna was surprised by the gesture, but accepted it. Their makeout session intensified. After another minute, Luna broke the kiss. “What was that about?” she asked quietly, taking another glance at the window. Celestia was still there. “Authenticity,” Trixie cooed, nuzzling Luna’s neck as the alicorn had done previously. Luna resisted the urge to shrug. Her sister was being very persistent- it was probably time to look a little more serious about what they were doing. She looked down at her student. Her face was now bright red. She looked further up, and eyed Trixie’s horn warily. This she did have some experience in, but it had been so long since she had practiced it that, in this case, she was even more unsure of how to proceed. Here goes some more nothing. Luna gently brushed Trixie’s horn with her snout, which caused the mare to tense her body slightly. Luna repeated the action a few times until Trixie seemed used to it, then gave the appendage a light lick. Trixie sighed with pleasure, and involuntarily ducked her head a little. Luna took that as her signal to proceed. She gave the shaft another lick, stronger this time. Trixie almost shivered. Luna looked up for just a moment to the window, and saw the sight she had been hoping for- the figure was turning away from the balcony! Just a few more seconds… “Wait,” Trixie said suddenly, forcefully. “Wait a second.” Luna’s heart skipped a beat as the figure in the window paused, and turned back to the castle. No! Not now! I’m so close! “What?” Luna hissed. The blue mare had already stood up before Luna could stop her. Her eyes were focused oddly, her breathing was irregular, and she looked angry. Her blush had spread across her entire face. “I see what’s going on here!” “Trixie, sit down!” Luna whispered loudly, hoping to salvage the situation, but already instinctively knew that her plan had just fallen through the floor. At the very last second. Amazing. The mare narrowed her gaze dangerously, her tone absolutely furious as she unsuccessfully tried to wipe her horn clean with a hoof. “You’ve been planning this all along! You and your sister have set this all up so you can get me into bed!” Luna’s face dropped into utter disbelief. “What-“ “Do you think the Great and Powerful Trixie is stupid? !” Trixie continued. “You don’t care about getting revenge on Twilight! You don’t care about teaching me magic! All you wanted was Trixie’s Great and Powerful bits!” Luna blinked in confusion. “Why would I want your mone-“ “I’m…” Trixie started, but her face scrunched up with anger before she could finish. “Insulted!” she managed. “It was a mistake coming here!” With that, the blue magician turned away from Luna and lit her still-moist horn with magic. “I expect my things to be mailed by morning!” she screeched. With that, Trixie disappeared in the flash of magical light that Luna had just taught her, leaving small contrails of smoke where she had stood just a moment ago. Luna was left staring blankly at the spot, wondering how her until-then perfect plan had fallen apart in thirty seconds. She blinked. Yep, Trixie was gone. That had just happened. She was too surprised to be angry. She was too surprised to be upset. She was just confused. From behind her, Luna heard soft hoofbeats as Celestia approached. Luna didn’t turn to face her. “I’m so sorry, Luna,” Celestia said in a voice that contained no sorrow whatsoever. “Sometimes things happen. She really wasn’t your type, anyway.” Luna let her head hit the floor." ]

[ "The 63rd Rune By: Alexstrazsa Chapter 1: How Could You Be So Wrong, Twilight? Books and scrolls littered the floor of Ponyville’s library, leaving only a small path for Twilight to walk through. At the epicenter of the organized chaos was the unicorn herself, glancing between a large, old book and a partially finished chalk drawing on the ground. Occasionally she moved to a large stack of books detailing old languages and flipped through them, mumbling to herself as she cross-referenced symbols and details to a piece of parchment. After several more walks between her references and the near crumbling book she was so focused on, she grinned and took a piece of chalk with her magic. “Now... I need to draw these runes just right...” Twilight said to herself, tracing an intricate pattern into the floor of the library. Beads of sweat were starting to form on her brow, from the concentration she was putting into the small piece of chalk scraping along the floor. Just a little more... she thought, finishing a sixth circle with a complex rune in the center. She brought the chalk back to the beginning of the main circle, and as it connected, she took a deep breath and stopped focusing. “Finally, it’s done.” The purple mare stepped out of her home and took a breath. It had been a while since she got some fresh air, and it was a nice change from the musky basement. As she closed the door behind her, the town’s grey-coated and blonde-maned mailpony paid her a visit. “Greetings, Twilight!” Derpy chirped. She opened her satchel and brought out the usual mail. Bills, advertisements, and the monthly check from Princess Celestia arrived. “On time as usual,” Twilight replied with a smile. She took the letters in her mouth and set them next to her door. “I haven’t missed a day yet!” Twilight thought for a moment, then asked “Derpy, could you do me a favor?” “Sure thing, Twilight!” “While you’re making your rounds today, could you tell Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy to meet at the library around three?” “Not a problem,” Derpy said, turning to leave. “Thank you!” Twilight yelled out as the mail pony flew off to her next destination. She then picked up her mail and went back inside. It was time to give the library a good cleaning. - - - Three o’clock arrived faster than Twilight had anticipated - she was still picking up books when she heard the first knock at her door. She opened the door to find Fluttershy - a light yellow pegasus with a long, pink mane - standing there. “Hello Twilight,” Fluttershy said, in a soft voice. “Is there something you needed?” “It’s more of an announcement,” Twilight replied, letting Fluttershy in. “You’ll know when everypony gets here.” The pegasus gave a warm smile as she walked in. “Oh, how exciting.” One by one, the other ponies arrived. Applejack tipped her hat as she walked in, followed several minutes later by Rarity. Pinkie Pie bounced through the door, licking the remains of some dessert off her face. Lastly, when everypony was settled, Rainbow Dash arrived. “Sorry about that, everypony!” Dash said as she rushed into the library. “My uh... alarm didn’t go off.” Applejack looked to Dash with a less than convinced expression. “So what ya meant ta say is that ya overslept.” “Eh... I guess you could say that,” The rainbow-maned pegasus replied, her cheeks growing red. “Well, that’s okay,” Twilight said, stepping before the rest of her friends. “Now that you’re all here, I have a very important announcement to make!” She motioned behind herself. “If you’ll notice, there are six circles written on the floor behind me. They are all contained in a larger circle. This is called a ‘rune circle’, and I’ve been working very hard on it.” “Well what’s it do, Twi?” Applejack asked. “You see, it’s all part of a complicated spell which I put together. It uses ancient, shape shifting magic and runes to alter a ponies physical composition and body structure. Every single rune serves a purpose and acts as a different component in the-” “Equestrian, please,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, with visible irritation on her face. “It changes the type of pony you are,” Twilight replied, deadpan. At this, Pinkie Pie’s face lit up. “Ooh, so you mean that Fluttershy could be an earth pony, or Applejack could be a unicorn, or I could be pegasus pony? !” Rainbow Dash’s face turned to dread at the thought of Pinkie Pie with wings. She had to say something. “Are you sure that’s safe, Twilight?” “I’m absolutely sure it’s safe. I’ve double and triple checked everything about this spell. Besides, it should only be temporary. At most it’ll last one or two hours.” Dash sighed with relief. She didn’t have to worry about a certain pink pony with wings for too long. “Well, I suppose we could all use a change, could we not?” Rarity asked the group. “I mean, I’ve always fancied being able to fly, especially since the competition in Cloudsdale.” “And all that fancy unicorn magic would really help out with my apple buckin’. I s’pose I could try it for an hour or two,” Applejack added. “So, what would everypony like to be? You can choose whatever you like!” Twilight asked, grinning to each of her friends. This would be a great chance to test her strength, and how much she’d learned. “Um, if it’s okay Twilight, I’d like to be an earth pony. Maybe I can be closer to my animals friends that way,” Fluttershy explained. “Ah’d like to be a unicorn then, Twilight. We’ll see if Ah can wrangle that magic,” Applejack said. “I want to be a pegasus pony! Then I can hang decorations and streamers really easily, and deliver treats and sweets really fast!” Pinkie Pie added, bouncing up and down. “If you could be so kind as to make me a pegasus as well, I would be appreciative? It’s been so long since I’ve flapped a pair of gorgeous wings!” Rarity sighed, her eyes looking to the distance. “I’m just gonna stick with being a pegasus,” Dash said, flapping her wings a few times. “I like flying way too much to give up these bad boys.” “Okay, that settles it then! Everypony, except Dash, stand in one of the outside circles. I’ll go into the middle and begin the spell,” Twilight announced. The others complied, and stood in one of the outer rings. Twilight stepped into the middle. Her horn began to glow, soft at first, but then increasing in brightness. The spirals shone as bright pink magic coursed the horn. She gritted her teeth and shut her eyes, recalling how to proceed with the spell. Below her, the rune began to glow a bright purple. Its energy flowed into the outer rim, then began to seep into the rest of the complicated inscription. Luminescent purple light filled every bit of chalk on the ground, drenching the room in a lavender glow. Rainbow Dash did nothing but watch as Twilight strained with the spell. The magical energy built up in Twilight’s horn made it glow bright white, and it began to hum with energy. The runes and circles on the ground sparked and hissed, overflowing with power. Just then, Twilight’s knees began to shake, threatening to buckle under exertion. No, I can’t give up! I need to finish this! Her thoughts began to get panicked, as she felt the magic slipping with every passing second. It’s too strong! I can’t control it! The magic began to surge out of control, violent bolts shooting out and hitting bookcases and walls alike. Just a little longer... It was over. She couldn’t maintain it any longer. With nothing restraining it anymore, the raw magic exploded with power, sending a rippling shock wave throughout the library. With her magic drained and on the brink of exhaustion, Twilight slipped into unconsciousness. - - - Twilight felt different... somehow. She opened her eyes partway and found her vision to be blurry. She looked around for her friends, and found them lying in their respective circles, with Rainbow Dash behind a couch. At least, she could see the colors of their coats and manes. Twilight made an attempt to stand up, but found her legs feeling like jelly. After a brief fight with gravity, she managed to steady herself, then cautiously went up the stairs and into her room. She needed to find her book, and find out why she couldn’t pull that spell off. By all means, it shouldn’t have taken that much energy and magic to successfully cast, so what had gone wrong? “Ugh, where is it?” she groaned. It was at this point that she noticed something was very out of the ordinary. “Hello.” she said, listening. It was deeper, and had a more masculine tone. Oh no... oh no... she panicked, her mind already going through the possibilities. She had to see herself. Twilight rushed over to her dresser and looked into the mirror. “What have I done?” Her once long mane was now shortened on the top of her head and the back of her neck, and it was styled in different length locks. Her pink and light purple highlights stuck out slightly farther than the rest, making them more noticeable. She looked towards her flank and noticed her legs had grown longer and bulkier; her tail shorter. She took notice of her larger snout as well. He was now a stallion, and all of his friends were as well. Moments after this realization hit him, he heard loud hoofsteps and muffled shouting from below. The others had awoken by now, and they didn’t sound happy. He rushed downstairs to find the rest of the group looking over themselves, some angry and some confused. “What in the hay is this, Twilight? !” Applejack shouted, walking to Twilight. The accent was there, but it was more gruff now. His hair was still long and in a ponytail, but that was the only thing the same about Applejack. “I don’t know what went wrong, Applejack, and I’m really sorry about this!” Twilight said, trying to calm the farmpony down. He looked to the others. Rainbow Dash was missing, Fluttershy was sitting in a corner, Pinkie Pie was unsurprisingly as happy as ever, and Rarity was coming close to a panic attack. “Is anyone hurt?” “I’m just fine Twilight, except my voice, which sounds really funny now! I’m like a stallion!” Pinkie Pie said, jumping around the library. Fluttershy only looked at Twilight and shook his head. “Fluttershy? How’s your voice?” Twilight asked. What came from Fluttershy wasn’t deep like she expected, but very gentle and sweet. “I feel okay, Twilight... nothing hurts. I’m just... like this,” he answered. “That’s a relief. Rarity, how about you?” Twilight asked, looking at Rarity. “How about me? How about me? !” Rarity said, storming over to Twilight. “Just look at this mess! My fabulous mane, although still stunningly beautiful, is far too short now! And just listen to me! I sound like... like... him.” “Who?” Twilight inquired, trying to recognize the voice. “...Blueblood,” Rarity hissed. “This simply will not do at all! Not only do I need to completely change how to get ready for outings, but now I need to design an entirely new wardrobe! I can’t be walking around in dresses like this!” “So... you aren’t hurt?” Twilight asked. “My pride maybe, but I’m not. I am quite alright. Oh, it’s going to take forever to sew suits...” With everypony in the library accounted for, only one needed to be checked on - Rainbow Dash. “Did anyone see Dash?” Twilight asked, looking at his friends. “I think she mentioned something about flying,” Pinkie said, pointing a hoof at the door. With this, Twilight poked his head outside to see Rainbow Dash high in the sky. He was flying down with incredible speed. Twilight could make out a thin barrier of resistance pushing against Dash, and as expected, he couldn’t push through it and it snapped back, hurtling Dash through the sky. “Dash! Come back down! We need to talk!” Twilight yelled. Rainbow Dash heard this and soared to the entrance of the library, landing on his hooves with a resounding thud. His brows were creased with anger and his teeth were clenched. “Rainbow, what’s wrong?” “I can’t fly fast enough!” Rainbow Dash yelled. Twilight could make out small tears forming in his eyes. “I’m too big now! I can’t go fast enough to do a Sonic Rainboom.” “I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, but-” “That was all I had, Twilight! Speed! I was the greatest flier in Equestria! Now... now I can’t even pull off my best stunt!” Rainbow yelled. He pushed past Twilight and into the library. It makes sense... Twilight thought, recalling what he knew of physics. He went back intro the library. Now that everypony was healthy and here, he could figure out what went wrong. He levitated the ancient book over and looked through it, desperately trying to pinpoint the issue. Looking over the chalk, he scrutinized the the details of the circle for a moment before exclaiming “Ah ha! Here’s our problem.” “What’s up, Twi?” Applejack asked. “Come look at this.” The unicorn motioned for everypony to join him, then turned the book so they had a better view of it. “If you’ll notice, there are one hundred runes that need to be written precisely in order for the spell to work.” He waved a hoof in a circular pattern around the diagram, then continued. “However, this particular rune was damaged at some point before I started the spell.” Twilight pointed at a rune in the book, then lowered it and pointed at the corresponding one on the floor. Where it should have been inscribed and untouched, it remained smudged and nearly indistinguishable. “I went and counted. That one is the sixty third rune, and I highly suspect it’s the reason we’ve changed.” Twilight then closed the book, levitating it to the stand it had been on earlier. “I’m not sure how it happened, as it could have been error on my part or an accident from one of you. Either way, what’s done is done. Fortunately, we should just be able to wait it out. Then, we can all get on with our lives, okay?” Numerous murmurs of agreement came from the rest of them. All they could do now was wait. One hour passed. Pinkie tried to get them all to play a game, but only Rarity would bite. A second hour came. Dash was flipping through some Daring Do books that he had already read, deciding to get to the exciting parts. Rarity and Pinkie Pie’s game of checkers had long since ended, with Pinkie coming out with 33 wins to two losses, and the party pony opted to go into the kitchen for a snack. Then, the third hour came around. Twilight looked at the time and began to worry. The spell should have worn off an hour ago, so why were they still stallions? “What’s the deal, Twilight? I thought we’d be back to normal by now,” Dash said, also looking at the time. The others were frequently shifting in place and tapping their hooves against the floor, along with the occasional groan. “I don’t know Dash, this should have worn off. Maybe I should recheck the rune circle to see if something else-” “Um, I don’t mean to interrupt Twilight, but, uh... Pinkie Pie isn’t here anymore,” Fluttershy said. “What! ?” Twilight exclaimed, eyes growing wide. Somehow, nopony noticed when the party pony left the building, and he could have been anywhere by now. Twilight knew that none of them would want to leave the library though, for fear of what the town would think of them. It was then that Dash answered Twilight’s silent prayer. “I’ll look for her. Him. Whatever.” With that, Dash opened the door and cautiously walked outside. He looked around, making sure that nopony was in the near vicinity. Taking a few steps and checking again for good measure, the pegasus fully left the library. “Now, if I were Pinkie Pie, where would I go? Oh, duh. Sugarcube Corner!” he said to himself. He began trotting towards the sweet shop in search of Pinkie. The town square was approaching, and Dash gulped. It was now or never. As he walked into the town, ponies began to happily look at him. One called out from the crowd. “Good afternoon, Rainbow Blitz!” she greeted. Rainbow recognized this as Bon-Bon, but they had never really talked before. “Uh... Hi, Bon-Bon,” Rainbow said, with a forced smile. “Oh gosh, he talked to me!” Bon-Bon exclaimed to Lyra, who was standing next to her. “You are so lucky, Bon-Bon,” Lyra replied, waving to Dash. As Dash walked through town, he continued being greeted and talked to by other ponies, some of which she had never met before. “What in Equestria is going on here?” he mumbled. Finally, he had made it to Sugarcube Corner. When he opened the door, he was warmly greeted by Mrs. Cake. “Oh, hello dear! Are you here for Bubble Berry? He’s upstairs right now,” she said, while ringing up a customer. “Uh, yeah. I’m here to pick up... Bubble Berry,” Dash replied. “Go right ahead and get him,” Mrs. Cake said. Dash walked up the stairs and opened the door to Pinkie’s room, and found him looking in a mirror. “Pinkie, why did you leave?” he asked. “Oh, I was getting bored of that stuffy old library, so I decided to go outside and try out this funny voice! In fact it’s so different that everypony is calling me Bubble Berry! Don’t those silly fillies know that it’s me?” Pinkie said, smiling the whole time. “That was happening to me too. Random girls kept talking to me and calling me ‘Rainbow Blitz’.” “Ooh, Blitz. That sounds neat! It kinda suits you when you look like that, doesn’t it? I mean stallions aren’t really types to ‘dash’, they’d do something cooler like ‘blitz’, and lucky for you you’re a stallion now, so everything works out right?” “Not really Pinkie... it doesn’t work out. I don’t exactly want to be a stallion. Now come on, we need to go back to Twilight’s and see what we can do about this.” “Aww, if you say so Dashie. I really like how I look like now. I’m all bigger and taller and my mane isn’t as long, but that’s okay because it fits me this way!” It was going to be a long walk to the library for Dash, filled with Pinkie ranting about his new look. The two of them finally arrived, which took longer than Dash had hoped, due to more of his ‘fans’ popping up. “Thank goodness you got back okay. What happened out there?” Twilight said, closing the door as they walked in. “Just the usual. A lot of ponies coming up to me and calling me awesome, asking for autographs, needing pictures with the incredible Rainbow Dash... normal stuff. Well... except for the part where they called me Rainbow Blitz... and a lot of them were... uh... I think they were hitting on me,” Dash explained, his cheeks growing slightly red. “And they called me Bubble Berry!” Pinkie chimed in, with a little hop. “It was really weird at first, but I got used to it.” “Wait, what? Everypony acted completely normal?” He then looked to Dash. “Mostly normal, at least. No one wondered why you two were stallions?” Twilight asked, puzzled. “Exactly. It was like we’ve always been this way,” Dash said. Always been this way... Twilight thought. A situation suddenly occurred to her. “What if this isn’t all the spell did?” he said, motioning to their bodies. “What if it changed memories too?” “Can a spell be that powerful?” Applejack questioned. “I don’t see why not,” Twilight replied. “That would explain why I couldn’t control it - it took too much magic to use.” “So, this spell backfired so badly that it turned us into stallions, changed the memories of Ponyville and who knows how much farther, and it doesn’t reverse either?” Dash said, eyeing Twilight with disappointment. “You could say that...” Twilight sheepishly said. “How could you be so wrong, Twilight?” a voice came from upstairs. A very feminine voice. “Who is that?” Twilight called out. It was then that Spike appeared, wrapped up from head to toe in his blanket. “It’s me,” Spike answered, his voice higher pitched. Through the blanket, one would notice eyelashes and down facing green tufts on her cheeks. “Spike... are you...?” Twilight started. “Yes, I am. And yes, it’s your fault. You better fix this, Twilight,” Spike threatened, pointing a claw at Twilight. The six ponies downstairs weren’t the only ones affected by the gender change, apparently. “Okay, I can figure this out. Spike, take a message for the Princess.” Dear Princess Celestia I’m in need of your help. Over the past few days I’ve been experimenting with an ancient magic that I found in the library. I needed to learn old Equestrian to understand it, and I overestimated my magical abilities when attempting to cast it. The spell was merely supposed to change what type of pony somepony was, but something went terribly wrong. After failing to cast the spell, I awoke to find myself... as a stallion. My friends have all become stallions as well, and poor Spike has become female. It also seems that the ponies of Ponyville have had their memories changed, and they all recognize us this way. I don’t know how to reverse this, and I’m requesting your assistance. Please reply as soon as you can! Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle “That should do for now. Thank you, Spike.” Twilight said. In what seemed like an impossibly short amount of time, Spike produced a scroll from Princess Celestia in a puff of green fire. Sparing his companion the embarrassment of speaking any more, Twilight levitated the scroll to himself and read it. To My Faithful Student, The spell you had casted was indeed of ancient origins, and I’m afraid the only way to help you is to meet you in person and assess your situation. Please travel to Canterlot as soon as you can. You and your friends will be admitted entrance into the castle with no problem. I will do everything I can to assist you. Don’t forget to bring the book that you took the spell from as well. I hope to see you soon. Princess Celestia “Well, everypony, it seems we have no choice. We need to travel to Canterlot.” Twilight said, levitating his satchel over. “You mean, we need to go out like this? Out in public?” Rarity asked. “Nuts, Twilight. There ain’t anything else we can do?” Applejack chimed in. “I’m afraid not. We have to go to Canterlot and get help from the Princess herself,” Twilight responded. “If we need to... then I’ll go,” Fluttershy said, standing up. “Whee, an adventure! And since Canterlot is far I can use my funny voice as much as I want!” Pinkie Pie said, hopping around. “I suppose... showing off my ‘new’ look couldn’t hurt. I mean, I am still Rarity after all,” the white unicorn said, rubbing a hoof through his curled purple hair. “Ah s’pose I can work with this for the time bein’,” Applejack added, tipping his hat up. “As long as we can fix this, I’m ready,” Dash said, with a slight smile. “Then it’s settled. Let’s pack our things and head to Canterlot!” Twilight exclaimed." ]

[ "Chapter 2: Why Are You Calling Me Dusk? The sky blue stallion touched down on a cloud ledge floating above Ponyville. In front of him was a large fluffy mansion. To some, it was a large structure in the sky, far more architecturally detailed than most buildings. To Rainbow Blitz, it was just a place to crash - sometimes literally. On this day, however, he wasn’t there to lounge around or sleep - he needed to pack his things and leave. The trip to Canterlot would be long, difficult, and not have nearly enough nap time. It would all be worth it in the end, since as much as he was enjoying the attention because of his new masculine body, Blitz wanted to be Dash again. He entered the sky manor, surveying his surroundings. Even now, he noticed changes with his house. The living room was slightly messier than he was comfortable with. Empty food packaging littered the coffee table, while magazines laid casually on the floor. Blitz picked one up, looked at the page it was on, then promptly put it down and felt his cheeks grow hot. The house wasn’t a proud sight, and Blitz was a little ashamed that this is how he lived. There wasn’t enough time to dwell on his altered home life, however, so he disregarded the mess and walked up the stairs to the second floor. As luck would have it, Blitz’s room was right where he left it. He gently pushed open the cloud door and walked in, noticing that it was just as unkempt as the living room. The bed sheets were tossed every which way, assorted books and clothes were on the floor, and somehow, parts of the cloud floor had gotten stained. With a disappointed sigh, he walked to the closet and pulled out two saddle bags. Now, what do I need? Something in case it’s cold out, something to sleep in, and food. That should be good! he thought. Blitz walked to his dresser and started to open the drawer when he noticed several pictures in frames resting on top. In each one, he was standing next to several ponies, smiling brightly. Were they fans of his? He had gotten a lot of those in the past several hours. Blitz decided to keep it a mystery as he bagged a sweater. He then found a sleeping bag in the closet to use, and after storing it, he walked back downstairs. From the kitchen he took some food - a bag of chips, a likely flat bottle of soda, and as a last resort, some oats - snacking on a hooffull before leaving the residence. After a final glance at the household, Rainbow Blitz dived off the edge of the cloud. He unfolded his wings and flew gracefully through the air, heading to Twilight’s library. - - - Elsewhere, a certain white unicorn was arriving home. The purple maned fashion pony stepped into the Carousel Boutique, with the intent of simply gathering a few things and leaving. What he found, though, caused him to lose his train of thought and stand dumbfounded at the entrance. Beautiful dresses had been replaced by gorgeous suits in all shapes and styles. Rarity walked to the closest one and scrutinized the design. It was a dark, pinstriped suit with glossy buttons on the front. There was a matching, patterned tie to go along with it. Hmm... the stitching could do with some improvement, and the buttons seem a tad too high... He circled around with a critical eye, looking for any imperfection or tailoring error. “I’m fairly impressed with myself,” he finally said, with a smile. A small voice suddenly called from upstairs. “Elusive? Is that you?” Sweetie Belle poked her head out of the upstairs railing and looked down at Rarity. “Oh, it is you! I’ve been waiting for you to come ba-” she started, but was interrupted by a very agitated sounding Opalescence diving at her hair. “Ow, get off!” The frustrated feline caused Sweetie Belle to lose her balance and tumble down the stairway. “Oh my goodness, Sweetie Belle!” Rarity said,watching in fear as his sister roll down the stairs. As Sweetie Belle came to a stop at the foot of the steps, Opal walked over to Elusive and rubbed his front leg, purring. “Dear, are you alright?” Rarity asked. “Yeah, Elusive, I’m fine...” Sweetie Bell wearily got up, and shook herself off. Elusive? Is that what I’m called now? Rarity thought. Sweetie Belle’s next sentence solidified this fact. “Elusive, is it okay if Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stay over tonight? We have crusading to do!” she asked, trying to look as adorable as she could. “Well, I certainly can’t decline a request to a face like that,” Elusive replied, lightly rubbing his hoof through Sweetie Belle’s mane. “Oh yes! Thank you, thank you!” Sweetie Belle cheered, hopping in place. “I just need you to do one thing for me, okay?” “Anything for you, big brother.” “I have very important business in Canterlot that I need to attend to, and while I’m gone, I need somepony to take care of the Boutique while I’m away. Do you feel responsible enough for that?” Elusive asked, walking around Sweetie Belle. “I think I can. Do I have to... sell anything?” “No!” Elusive said, slightly louder than he had intended. It was just that he had remembered the last time Sweetie Belle tried to ‘help’ with anything in the shop, leading to one of the largest messes he had the displeasure of dealing with. “No, no. You just need to stay here and watch over everything. I’ll leave a sign saying that the shop is currently closed. How does that sound?” “I can do that!” Sweetie Belle replied, happily. She then trotted back up the stairway, disappearing into the second floor of the boutique. Now that the shop is taken care of, I can properly pack. Elusive thought, retrieving saddlebags from the store room. How would he ever choose the proper suit for this occasion? - - - Meanwhile, at the local apple orchard, another pony was facing a much more important issue. Applejack trotted down the path that led into Sweet Apple Acres, passing the small vine-laden archway and the water well. As he walked, it occurred to him just how long he had been gone. Ah should probably check on Apple Bloom and Big Mac. he thought, passing the old barn. All he needed to do was tell Macintosh that he needed to go to Canterlot with Twilight and settle an... issue with the princess. It wouldn’t take long. “Howdy Applejack!” Apple Bloom called, exiting the house. She was wearing her cutie mark crusader cape and had a saddlebag on. “Well hey there, Apple Bloom. Watcha up to?” Applejack replied, silently thanking Celestia that his name was unchanged. “I was gonna go to Sweetie Belle’s and do some crusadin’!” the filly replied, showing off her cape. “Is it okay If I go, bro?” “O’ course it’s okay. Just don’t go gettin’ into trouble, ya hear?” “I promise! Thanks Applejack!” Apple Bloom trotted off down the dirt road, leaving her brother behind. “Rainbow was right, they do think we’re normal.” Applejack said to himself, watching his sister disappear at the outskirts of the farm. “What ain’t normal ‘bout ya?” a deep voice came. Applejack looked back to the house and saw Big Macintosh standing in the entrance. His signature sprig of wheat hung from his mouth. “Ah’m jus’ fine. It was nothin’,” Applejack said, nervously. “You sure?” the crimson stallion replied, his eyebrow rising slightly in question. “You were gone awfully long.” “Well, Mac, somethin’ came up with princess Celestia.” This piqued Big Mac’s interest. “Ya see, I have t’go to Cantelot an’ talk to her. Ah’m goin’ with Twilight.” “Twilight? Twilight who?” “Y’know, Twilight Sparkle. Does all that fancy magic an’ likes books?” Big Mac cocked his head to the side, clearly confused. “Ya mean Dusk Shine? He’s th’ only pony I know ‘round these parts like that.” Aw shoot, they all got new names? This’ll be tricky. Applejack was trying to think of an explanation for this. “Well uh, yes, ah’m goin’ with him too. Twilight is jus’ a new pony in town is all.” He faked a smile. “Eeyup. Makes sense.” His face was unreadable, so Applejack could only assume that Mac believed him. “If ya’ll need t’go, you best get your stuff packed.” “Yep, ah better,” Applejack said, entering the house. - - - For the animal friendly pegasus, things weren’t going quite as easily. On the outskirts of Ponyville, just past a short patch of woods, sat an earthly cottage. The roof was covered with grass, and if not for the windows and door it would’ve resembled a large boulder. Many birdhouse hung in the nearby trees, and burrows yawned in the ground. It was a natural paradise for wildlife. A small stone bridge allowed passage over the local stream, and this is where Fluttershy stood, quizzically observing a small signpost planted at the bridge. In light pink cursive text, it read 'Welcome to Butterscotch’s Cottage.' He didn’t know who Butterscotch was, but he knew this was where his home had to be. Walking past the sign and over the bridge, he called out to the animals. “Hello friends, I’m back.” Silence. Well that’s strange. Normally they all come out to greet me. Fluttershy pondered the absence of her companions as he approached the door of her cottage. He pushed the door and found that it wouldn’t budge. It appeared to be locked from the inside. Oh no, did I forget to leave the door open? Fluttershy pushed again, but to no avail. Suddenly, he heard a knock on the nearby window. Looking over, he spied Angel, his most trustful animal friend. The white rabbit had a stern expression, and shook his head as to say “No.” Fluttershy let out a gasp. “Oh, Angel Bunny, would you please open the door for me?” he asked. Angel declined. The rabbit left the window perch for a moment, and hastily returned with a picture frame. He pressed it to the window, revealing a photo of Fluttershy as a mare, surrounded by a group of animals, with Angel sitting on her head. Shock hit Fluttershy as she realized Angel didn’t recognize her. “Angel, it’s me, Fluttershy. Don’t you see?” Angel kept his stern expression. “Please, let me in. Don’t you remember me?” The rabbit’s attitude was nearly set in stone. Desperately needing a way in, Fluttershy began to recall events that she shared with the bunny. “Do you remember winter wrap up, when we helped the animals come out of hibernation? What about when I was helping Philomena, and Twilight came and tried to help too?” Angel’s expression lightened as the pony went through their recent history together. “Angel, do you remember when I found you? When you were hurt on the side of the road and I took care of you?” This had a deep effect on the snowy rabbit. Almost immediately after hearing this, he rushed over to the door and unlocked it. Fluttershy happily entered the house and pet Angel’s head. “I knew you would remember.” he said, gently. Angel then took the photo again and held it up, motioning at Fluttershy, then the picture, and finally shrugging as to say “What happened?” Fluttershy had a bit of explaining to do. As Fluttershy was telling the story, her animals slowly began to come out and recognize him. “...and that’s when I came here,” he finished, surrounded by all different types of creatures. “So Angel, when I’m gone, could you please take care of the house?” Angel nodded. “That’s a good bunny,” Fluttershy said with a smile. He stood up, and prepared to get ready for the impending journey. While gathering the few supplies he needed and heading to leave, he thought to himself Butterscotch... is a nice name. - - - Bubble Berry hopped down the street, humming to himself. He was on the way to Sugarcube Corner, to both get ready for the big upcoming adventure and to tell the Cakes that he would be gone for a few days. Bubble bounced to the sweet shop’s door and opened it, sending a bell chime throughout the store. Mrs. Cake peered from the kitchen door and spotted Bubble Berry. “Oh, hello dear!” she greeted. “Hiya Mrs. Cake!” Bubble Berry replied. “So, what did you have to do with Rainbow?” “We found out that we’re going on a super duper important but fun trip to Canterlot to talk to the princess!” he chimed. “Is it anything serious?” Mrs. Cake replied, a hint of worry on her face. “Oh no, we just need to talk about magic!” “Well, have fun, and be careful!” “I will! Now where’s Gummy...” Bubble said, going up the stairs. It was time for adventure! Ponyville’s clock tower chimed seven times as the six stallions entered the town’s library. Dusk Shine was eagerly awaiting them, his own saddlebags neatly packed and equipped. “Welcome back, everypony,” Dusk said. “We have a lot of ground to cover, so we’ll be leaving as soon as I map out our route.” His horn lit up and a map levitated from the bookshelf and neatly unfurled itself in front of him. He brought it to a desk and laid the map flat, inspecting Equestria’s geography. It was a fairly straight path, passing a lake, several large hills, and eventually ending off at the mountain range Canterlot was located in. Overall, they would be in Canterlot by noon the next day. “That ain’t too bad,” Applejack said, looking over the map. “The trip t’Manehatten was a lot longer than that, an’ I was jus’ a lil’ filly when ah took that journey.” “It’ll be over before we know it,” Dusk replied, tracing over the path in dark ink. He marked a rest area along the route, then rolled the map up and tucked it into his saddlebag. “Is everyone ready?” “Sure are,” Applejack said, tipping his hat. “As am I,” Elusive replied, lightly shaking his purple mane. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” Blitz said, flicking his tail. “Let’s go!” Bubble Berry excitedly said, Gummy clinging to his mane. “Eeep...” Butterscotch squeaked. “Alright then!” Dusk Shine picked up his bags and threw them on his back, then opened the door for his friends. As they filed out, he called to the top floor. “Spike! We’ll be back in a few days! Just watch the house, okay!” “...Okay,” a high pitched voice came from the balcony. Poor Spike... we’ll get you, and the rest of us, back to normal. Dusk Shine exited the library, and closing the door behind him, trotted off to catch up to his friends. - - - It wasn’t long before they had passed the ‘Welcome to Ponyville!’ sign and were on the long road to Canterlot. The grand city of royals was visible on the distant mountain range, its expansive waterfalls cascading down the cliffs and into nothingness. It was a beautiful view, witnessed by mostly everyone in Equestria. The group watched the city in awe as they walked, making small conversation as they traveled. It was then that Elusive brought up their new bodies and names. They shared their stories of how they figured out their names, then discussed the bodies. “I’m beginning to grow quite fond of it, to be honest,” Elusive said, looking over himself. “I never dreamed that a stallion could be so fashionable.” “Well, I didn’t want to admit this in town, but I’m kind of liking the attention I’m getting,” Blitz stated, looking down in partial embarrassment. “I guess I’m just really awesome. Well, more awesome then usual.” He then extended his wings and gave them a flap. “But I still can’t do a Sonic Rainboom like this, so I’m going to need to go back to normal.” “Suit yourself,” Applejack responded. “I’m mighty strong as a stallion. Earlier I tried buckin’ and apple tree, and I jus’ about broke the poor things trunk.” “Oh you guys, I just like the way I sound!” Bubble Berry cheerily exclaimed. “I mean my mare voice was all high pitched and squeaky, but now I sound like this and it’s deeper you know?” He brought a hoof to his mane and bounced it up and down. “And my mane is just as poofy as ever, even though it’s shorter! It’s so fun.” “Yes, well, that’s nice for you guys... but, I think I’d like to go back to being a mare...” Butterscotch quietly said. “I mean, this is different and all, but none of my animal friends know who I am anymore, and I just can’t let them go without care...” “I agree,” Dusk said. Suddenly, his eyes widened as a realization kicked in. “Wait, did you say your animals didn’t recognize you?” “Um, yes. That’s right...” “But the sign in front of your cottage was changed?” “Yes, it was.” “Then that must mean... the spell only affected up to Butterscotch’s cottage. Wait, why am I calling you Butterscotch?” “Um... because that’s my stallion name... and we should call each other by the right names... if you want to.” Dusk rolled his eyes as he levitated the map out of his bag, along with a quill. “So, if the spell started here...” he placed a dot on the library. “And ended here...” another dot was jotted down right before the cottage. “Then this must be the range.” He drew all the way around, creating a circle that covered all of Ponyville and some of the outer boundaries as well. “Wow, that’s huge!” Blitz said, eyeing the circle. “Indeed, it is. I had no idea it would be this powerful...” Dusk’s tone was downcast. He was responsible for all of this, and he felt terribly guilty about it. “But it’s okay, this will all be fixed soon.” The sky began to turn dark as Celestia’s day came to an end. Looking toward the horizon, Dusk Shine suggested that they set up camp for the night. They had only been travelling for several hours, but it was dangerous at night and the group was growing weary. Five of the ponies began to unpack their sleeping bags and arrange them in a circle while Applejack gathered firewood from some nearby trees. Within a couple minutes, and some magical assistance, a cozy fire was crackling in the center of the six stallions. While attempting to sleep, Blitz raised a question that Dusk really didn’t want to think about. “Guys, what do we do if this... doesn’t go away?” “You mean ‘sides never lettin’ Dusk use magic on us again?” Applejack retorted. “Why are you calling me Dusk?” “Dunno. Jus’ seems natural. I’m kinda used to it already.” “Well that’s not my name, and these other names aren’t ours either!” Dusk was beginning to get bothered by the others acceptance of their ‘names.’ “But I’m liking Rainbow Blitz. It sounds even faster than Dash.” “And Elusive just sounds so classy. It fits me perfectly, if I do say so myself.” “Butterscotch sounds nice, and it fits my color.” “Me too!” Bubble said. “And it’s like my mood. I’m always so happy and bubbly, and I’m berry colored. Bubble Berry!” “Yes, those things all may be true, but we’re still us, aren’t we?” Dusk asked. “Dusk- I mean, Twi, have you looked at us recently? We ain’t the same.” “Maybe not on the outside, but on the inside we are.” “I don’t know Dusk, it just seems so natural to me,” Blitz said, looking into the night sky. “For some reason it feels weird to call you Twilight.” Hearing this, a thought began to brew in Dusk’s mind. Surely the spell couldn’t have done THAT, right? He pondered, slowly starting to think that this was much more serious than he had originally thought. It can’t be... it’s not changing... OUR thoughts, is it? Dusk could feel his heart rate speeding up as he thought more and more. Just calm down, Dusk. No! Twilight! I am Twilight Sparkle. Not... Dusk Shine. “Look, everypony, I know we’ve changed, but we’re going to be back to normal. If anypony in Equestria knows what to do, it’s the Princess. As soon as we get to Canterlot, we’ll have our answers. I promise. For now, get some rest. We need to start moving early tomorrow.” His friends muttered to themselves as they curled in their sleeping bags. With a bit of magic, Dusk extinguished the fire, and was left with nothing but darkness and his frantic thoughts to aid his slumber." ]

["Chapter 3: Thank You For The Gift, Princess Dusk Shine was backed into a corner, surrounded by fiv(...TRUNCATED)

["Chapter 4: Oh Heavens, Did You Say Dirt? Groomed and all packed up, Dusk Shine made his way down t(...TRUNCATED)

["Chapter 5: Are You Sure We’re Going the Right Way? The rush of wind blew through Dusk Shine’s (...TRUNCATED)

["Chapter 6: Dusk Shine, Get Ready! With a loud thud, and the sound of wicker forcing dirt and rock (...TRUNCATED)

["Chapter 7: You Know What This Calls For!? Before the basket had even touched the landing platform(...TRUNCATED)

["Antipodes Chapter 1 by PK Pony legends spoke of a time when the moon and the sun moved across the (...TRUNCATED)